Donna Frost heard her phone ring late Saturday afternoon and wondered, for a fleeting second, if it might be best to ignore it.

Her son, Washington Redskins punter Derrick Frost, called after every game, and precedent told Donna that this week's conversation would stand out as particularly unpleasant. An hour earlier, Frost had shanked a 14-yard punt in the fourth quarter of Washington's 17-10 playoff win at Tampa Bay. It was the type of mistake that had sent the punter spiraling several times before.